KNIGHTLY NEWS

Volume 4 - Issue 3 November 1, 2018

SUPERINTENDENT'S MESSAGE

It is hard to believe it's November already. I hope that families impacted by the gas outages are getting back into their homes and that heat is being restored. If you have been displaced by the gas disaster and need assistance with transportation or lunch, please contact your school’s principal or guidance counselor if you have not done so already.

On October 24 the district held a ceremony at the Stevens Memorial Library honoring this year’s Educator Hall of Fame recipient, Barbara McGovern, and 15 North Andover faculty members who attained Professional Teaching Status (PTS) this year. Teachers are granted PTS after a rigorous hiring process, three successful years of teaching, and participation in a mentoring and induction program.

The Educator Hall of Fame was established in 2009 by the School Committee as a way to recognize retired North Andover educators for their dedicated service. In addition to the 37 years

Ms. McGovern served as a caring and dedicated educator at the Franklin Elementary School, Ms. McGovern continued to inspire students after her retirement. In 2009, Barbara recruited NAHS students to become involved in her “Beam Dreams” project collecting school supplies for students in need. For decades Ms. McGovern has been a true role model for students both in and out of the classroom, and we are honored to have her join our Educator Hall of Fame.

A group of North Andover students performed service work in the Andes mountains and attended the Global Student Leadership Summit in Lima, Peru. They are pictured here at Machu Picchu in Peru in 2017.

Raising a Reader - Strategies for Supporting Reading at Home

Come and meet Anne Joyce and Jaclyn Taylor, Elementary Rading Coaches, and learn about ways you can help develop your child's literacy skills and promote a love of reading.

PLEASE JOIN US - Thursday, November 8, 2018 at the Anne Bradstreet Early Childhood Center Cafetorium from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

DISTRICT SPOTLIGHT

All Star Staff Report from the Atkinson School

It has been a wonderful first few weeks at Atkinson this fall. We have been engaged in a ton of activities that are bringing out school spirit and cooperation throughout the community. From day one, we have all worked together with the ABECC to keep the road and walkways safe for our students, families and staff, and things seem to be going very well, of late. We are utilizing newly opened spaces at Atkinson for reading and special education support, as well as for library, music and art. Right now, we are sharing our playground with the ABECC kindergarteners, but the plan is that we will have our new town and PTO-funded playspace ready to go before the snow flies.

Our PTO hosted Superintendent Gilligan for a rich exchange related to his entry plan and Atkinson School improvement. The PTO ran the second annual Trunk or Treat and Book Fair event on Friday, October 26, which was a great deal of fun for the students and families. In the spring, the PTO will be planning

for a large fundraiser and fun run to support our school. Stay tuned for more information about that; I hope you all can participate.

We’ve also got a few more things planned for the fall. Our RAISE Reps (Atkinson’s student councilors) are in the process of organizing our November election for this year’s new group of class representatives from grades 3-5. Students in grades 1-5 are coming up with a creative new school handshake that will be presented at our upcoming whole-school All-Star assembly. We recently enjoyed a pep rally for NAHS designed by our fifth-grade classes; it was a huge success and a great experience focused on all RAISE values, especially respect. Finally, students voted on the very first day of school for our RAISE phrase for the year, which is something that unifies our work through the month. Atkinson’s slogan for the year is: RAISE is the Craze! We hope that RAISE catches on everywhere, in class, at home and beyond. Have a great year!

CURRICULUM CORNER

North Andover’s Social and Emotional Learning Department is partnering with several different organizations in order to provide comprehensive SEL programs, curriculum, and services to our students. In the spring of 2017, we began a three-year partnership with Transforming Education, a Boston-based research organization, which is supporting the administration of social-emotional and school culture/climate surveys district-wide. These surveys will be used to gather anonymous data on the specific social-emotional needs of our students and to continue to put systems and supports into place to improve the culture of all schools. The baseline data collected from the surveys last spring will drive our SEL action planning over the next three years and help measure our progress through re-administration of the surveys in spring 2019 and spring 2020.

In the summer of 2018, we applied to become a part of the exSEL Network - whose members include the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, and the

Massachusetts Association of School Administrators (among others). NA was chosen to participate in the network along with a small number of other districts in the state. This network will allow North Andover to build our capacity to promote changes in practice at the district, school, and classroom levels and support the use of data to improve SEL integration.

On October 24, North Andover welcomed internationally recognized SEL speaker J. Allen to speak to administration, staff, and parents throughout the day and evening. Mr. Allen has spoken all over the world, from southern Australia to northern Alaska. His experience includes fifteen years directing programs serving children in school settings and twenty years as a volunteer working with at-risk youth, youth in custody, and foster children.

To learn more about the work we are doing on social-emotional learning in North Andover, please visit our SEL website or contact Nikki Murphy at murphyn@northandoverpublicschools.com.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND ENDEAVORS

This fall, with support from the BRC Committee, North Andover Public Schools began our partnership with the Anti-Defamation League to bring a program called A World of Difference to all middle school students at NAMS. Middle School Principal Jorge Goncalves and Peer Advisors Michaela Rodden and Rebecca Duchesneau are leading the way and working hard to train and develop student leaders, educate staff and students about bias-related issues, and create a more inclusive and respectful school community.

Student services

The Shark Tank

Moving Bodies, Building Minds: Recognizing the need for students and staff to have more movement throughout the day, a faculty team that includes the principal, teaching staff, the physical therapist and occupational therapists have been developing a new sensory area at Sargent. We named it the “Shark Tank” after Sargent’s mascot. The primary mission of the Shark Tank is to meet students’ learning needs by providing them with a creative, fun environment that uses movement to facilitate learning and self-regulation. Our idea is to provide students with a variety of tasks targeted at moving the body in ways that are proven to stimulate the brain for learning. Activities include: a large scale movement maze, individual stations and a calming area. The room has also been designed to include an assortment of sensory-based materials, carefully chosen to engage each of our learners in different ways. All students and teachers can access the Shark Tank area individually, in a small group, or with a whole classroom. Check it out - the Sargent Shark and Caedan and Kiley Downey move through the maze in this demonstration video.

Don’t miss out on other great events. Follow the Library on Twitter @StevensMemLib, Facebook, or the Library’s website

Visit the Library's website and calendar for more events: www.StevensMemLib.orgStevens Memorial Library, 345 Main Street, North Andover

School Committee cORNER

Greetings from the School Committee! We know that many of our children may still be displaced, and we hope that you are able to find normalcy very soon. In the meantime, if you have any school-related concerns during this period of transition, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Last week, the School Committee welcomed its newest member into the Educator Hall of Fame. The process for selection begins in April each year and concludes in October, with the School Committee choosing among nominees and voting at a regular meeting. This year’s recipient is Barbara McGovern. Barbara taught in the North Andover Public Schools for over 35 years, most of them at the Franklin Elementary school. She was such a service-oriented educator and dedicated member of the North Andover Rotary Club that the room was filled with friends, family, and fellow Rotarians who all came to honor Barbara. The wonderful evening was complemented by the recognition of the district’s newest members achieving Professional Teacher Status, an honor attained after three years of service in North Andover.

This month, the School Committee also voted to approve a request to name the wrestling room at the high school after Bill Chory, a former champion wrestler who died tragically in college from an undetected heart defect.

The previous high school had dedicated its field house in his name, and the accompanying plaque was saved when the new high school was built. The Committee was pleased to approve the request brought forth by Bill’s former wrestling teammates.

At our last School Committee meeting, we enjoyed having new NAMS principal Jorge Goncalves as he discussed his recent surveys and entry plan. We also had an in-depth discussion about the overall MCAS results and how the state measures progress and achievement. We look forward to having each of the principals attend this month to present their individual school's results and plans for improvement or continued success.

Finally, the School Committee hits the road at the end of the month with a meeting at the Senior Center! This meeting will occur at 9:30 am on November 29, which also allows anyone who is unable to come to evening meetings a chance to attend if so desired. For a schedule of meetings or other School Committee information, visit http://www.northandoverpublicschools.com/ school-committee.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Respectfully,

Holly Vietzke-Lynch, Chair

November School Committee Meeting Dates

Thursday, November 8, 2018 - 566 Main Street at 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, November 29, 2018 - Senior Center at 9:30 a.m.

Tweets of the Month

Congratulations to all of our teachers who earned professional teacher status at Stevens Memorial Library and to Barbara McGovern who was inducted into the Educator Hall of Fame.